How Local Riders Inspired Bell's New Women's Helmets
When Jessica Klodnicki of Bell Bike Helmets first launched the “Girls Rock” women’s mountain bike ride, she was just looking for other women to ride with.
Initially, she simply approached strangers in the parking lot next to her local trail. Then came the idea for a monthly group ride, starting with a small group of four riders. Before long, the gathering swelled to seven riders, then 12, and finally to the 130-strong monthly shredfest it is today. Local women—from beginners all the way up to local enduro pros—had apparently been waiting for something like this.
“Santa Cruz has an incredible mountain bike scene, but didn’t have a way for women to come together,” Klodnicki says. “I wanted something that was social, not intimidating, not about racing, and just a fun way to break down barriers for women to participate in mountain biking and get out there in the dirt.”
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Naturally, Klodnicki, who is Bell's executive vice president and general manager, shared the company's helmets with the group, but she also brought in dozens of other bike brands eager to have their women’s products tested by 100 riders every month. Eventually the ride became known as “Joy Ride”—a monthly opportunity for women to get together, connect on bikes, and share a post-ride beer.
Now Joy Ride is also a brand-new women’s collection from Bell Helmets.
When Bell employees surveyed 750 female cyclists about what they wanted from the new Joy Ride line, they heard the same feedback from nearly all of them: Don’t water it down, and don’t make it too over-the-top girly. Klodnicki said they also asked women why they ride, and the answers were, again, almost unanimous: for freedom, for joyfulness, and yes, for fitness—but primarily for the pure love of the ride.
With trailside input from the 330-plus cyclists participating in monthly Joy Ride group rides, Klodnicki says Bell chose a color palette that carefully sidestepped pink and purple and provided the same performance benefits as the men’s or unisex helmets. That includes everything from the full-face $220 Super 2R, which has MIPS and a removable chin bar, to the $75 Soul, which can transform into a soft-, hard-, or no-visor helmet, depending on your preference. Both will be available in mid-October.
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In addition to the new helmets, Bell created a Joy Ride ambassador program. Here’s how it works: Bell will identify five women in five towns just like Santa Cruz—places with significant mountain bike scenes but without a big women’s group ride. Once chosen, each ambassador will not only get a Bell helmet and custom kit, a paid trip to the Joy Ride Camp in Santa Cruz, raffle swag for the monthly rides, and pro deals—but they’ll also be given startup cash to jump-start a monthly Joy Ride of their own. It’s a big role that Klodnicki says is less about being an awesome mountain biker, and more about being passionate enough to share your love of riding dirt.
Check out the full perks and responsibilities—and apply to be a Joy Ride ambassador—at bellhelmets.com/joy-ride-program.
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